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HIGH SPRINGS ‒When we hear “Summer Camp” we often think of a season when kids are out of school, cabins lined with bunk beds, and cooling off in the water. Swimming, games, horses, archery, campfires, are often synonyms of our summer camp ideas.

This year marks 70 years of Camp Kulaqua, a summer camp and retreat center located in High Springs, Florida. A celebration of these past 70 years was held over a weekend in October and 450 people were in attendance, with staff and campers from the decades of the 1950s to present. Camp Kulaqua is owned and operated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and is a Christian camp and retreat facility that serves over 50,000 people each year.

The history of Camp Kulaqua starts in 1953 with a few men sitting on the banks of Hornsby Springs, prayerfully considering if they should purchase the 250 acres for $18,000. Prayers were answered and the land was purchased.

“The land was a jungle from the road of 441 to the spring,” recalled one of the early staff members of the camp, John Ryals. At the celebration, 96-year-old Mr. Ryals recalled the men clearing the land in the hopes of having a summer camp there soon. “It was a boys only camp that first week. In the nights we slept in tents. During the days we went swimming. Built a barn for some horses. And during downtime we caught lizards on a pole and released them later.”

As time passed the camp continued to develop. Land was cleared. Activities were added. Staff from the 1980s recall mini-dirt bikes, a treehouse at the end of the spring run, and off-site boating trips to Lake Butler’s lake.

Nature became one of the highlights of camp. One day, two orphaned racoons found their way to Kulaqua needing a home, and the Wildlife Sanctuary & Zoo was created. Today it still serves as a needed home to exotic animals and a sanctuary for the injured. Many from the neighboring community can recall the lion’s roar from the early days as the sound traveled for miles around.

Camp Kulaqua has now expanded to more than 800 acres with hundreds of buildings. In the growing town of High Springs, Camp Kulaqua hires over 80 employees from the community. Camp is a place that loves to serve and be available to the community. Families from the surrounding area often frequent the waterpark in the summer season and church families use the facility for retreats and meetings. Camp is also a resource to the children and local schools, providing education tours of the Wildlife Sanctuary to classrooms, a place for Extended Day Enrichment Program (EDEP) children to attend day activities, and is used by FFA Chapters for their yearly meetings.

Phil Younts, Executive Director of Camp Kulaqua for over 40 years, offers his appreciation for where camp is today. “Camp Kulaqua originally started as a summer camp and today we strive to serve the whole family. Family Camps, Outdoor Education, Summer Camps for children, just to name a few, are offered today. We are glad to be a part of the City of High Springs — a great place to live and a great place to serve God.”

“It’s the friendships we come back for. The once in a lifetime, never forget memories that are built at camp,” Julie Minnick recalls. As a camper and previous staff, Julie traveled from Virginia to be at the celebration. “This is always home for me,” is her response when asked the value of traveling the 300 miles for the 70^th year celebration.

Seventy years in operation is no small feat. Camp Kulaqua wants to thank God for the many blessings that He has given the millions of people who have entered its gates.

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Updated: 12/11/2023 2:40PM

GAINESVILLE, FL - A release issued by Alachua County Public Schools announced information received Dec. 11, 2023, from the Florida Department of Education.

A majority of the local elementary schools currently in ‘School Improvement’ or SI/turnaround status boosted their grades this year, according to a report released this morning by the Florida Department of Education.

Alachua (D to a C), Idylwild (D to a C), Terwilliger (D to a C) and Lake Forest (F to a D) elementary schools all increased their grades under the state’s revised accountability system, which this year was based on new tests and new cut scores for those tests. In fact, the state is referring to this year’s grades as ‘informational baseline’ grades.

Two other SI schools (Shell and Rawlings) maintained their grades, while Metcalfe fell from a D to an F. However, that grade will not affect Metcalfe’s current SI status.

Because of the testing changes, the new grading system for this year does not reflect student gains (changes from year to year), which are typically a significant element of school grades.

“No negative consequences shall result from these grades, as they are purely informational” said the state’s senior chancellor of the Florida Department of Education Adam Miller in an email to Florida’s superintendents. “However, a school may receive the benefits of these grades, in terms of qualifying for School Recognition and/or exiting turnaround status.” (Schools qualify for School Recognition by increasing their overall grade or maintaining an A grade.)

Alachua, Idylwild and Terwilliger will all move out of SI status as a result of the new grades, while Lake Forest will have an opportunity to move out based on its 2024 grade.

“It’s important to recognize the hard work and commitment of school leaders, faculty, staff, families, district personnel, our community partners and everyone involved in our schools,’ said Superintendent Shane Andrew. “This was a team effort, and we look forward to continued improvement at all our schools.”

Overall, 11 ACPS schools boosted their grades this year, four dropped and 20 remained the same, with 22 earning either an A or B grade. The district’s overall informational baseline grade for 2023 is a B.

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Special to Alachua County Today

GAINESVILLE ‒ What a turnout at the UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS) annual Family Fishing event on Veterans Day. There were 363 attendees including 26 veterans and their families who enjoyed casting, catching and releasing during the annual Fishing For Success (FFS) Family Day on Veteran’s Day.

The event also featured a BBQ hot dog lunch sponsored by Publix Supermarkets.

Raffles for Veterans and for each child in attendance included prizes such as rods and reels, vintage fishing lures and hats.

FFS hosts monthly event, March through November, that provide families the opportunity to fish together in a safe and fun setting in our six catching ponds on the grounds of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Anglers can expect to catch bluegill, red-ear sunfish, warmouth bream, largemouth bass, and channel catfish up to 10 pounds.

Free loaner fishing poles and prepared, bagged bait were distributed. Participants also found live bait by dipping nets and collecting it from the ponds.

Family Fishing Days are free, open to the public, and catch-and-release. Volunteers are on hand to help. Folks with little or no fishing experience are encouraged to attend. Volunteers enjoy showing novices the ropes.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - City of Gainesville officials anticipate severe weather conditions, including temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit during evening hours Sunday, Dec. 10-Monday, Dec. 11. The anticipated temperatures will lead to the activation of the city's Cold Night Shelter (CNS) Program, and it is expected to remain in effect until overnight low temperatures rise above 45 F. The CNS program normally runs from Nov. 1 through March 31.

 St. Francis House and GRACE Marketplace at the Empowerment Center will provide Cold Night Shelter services to people in need of shelter as long as overnight temperatures remain below 45 F. The CNS program providers serve additional persons in need of shelter so that families and individuals desiring shelter will have a warm place to stay. St. Francis House provides temporary shelter that is appropriate for families, women and children. GRACE Marketplace primarily serves individual adults.

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HIGH SPRINGS – A small group of High Springs’ residents called the Friends of High Springs are inviting families to join them for three more weekends in December at the High Springs Civic Center, 19107 N.W. 240^th Street, to view the more than 8,000 lights and Christmas-related displays set up on the grounds.

Families are invited to visit the Grinch at Whoville and meet Cindy Lou Who from 6 – 9 p.m. on Dec. 10, 16, 17 and 23. This is a free event with free hot chocolate and cookies for visitors. All are invited.

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HIGH SPRINGS, FLA. – Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, High Springs firefighters were dispatched to the area of N.W. 142^nd Avenue and NW 268^th Street, in High Springs’ Oak Meadows neighborhood for a reported brush fire.

Upon arrival, High Springs Engine 29 reported a one-acre, fast-moving brush fire with multiple structures threatened. Fighting a southerly wind, blowing the fire north toward a mobile home, Engine 29 set up structural protection, to prevent the fire from consuming the home, while Brush 29 worked the main grass fire. Additional resources from the Newberry Fire Department and Alachua County Fire Rescue were requested to aid in the blaze.

Thanks to the quick efforts of firefighters, the fire was stopped less than ten feet from a mobile home, saving the structure and its two housebound residents. The cause of the fire is believed to have come from a legally sized outdoor burn pile that spread beyond the fire pit.

The High Springs Fire Department reminds you to exercise extreme caution when burning outside. Pay attention to weather conditions and have a water source nearby. Burn piles must be 8 feet in diameter or less, 25 feet from your home, 25 feet from any wildlands or brush, 50 feet from a public road, and 150 feet from other occupied buildings. To learn more about burning outdoors in Florida, visit FloridaForestService.com

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